Follow China's aid lead, Sudan urges west

Sudanese government officials yesterday accused the west of applying double standards over the Darfur crisis and urged European countries to stop posturing and follow China's lead in assisting the country's economic development.

Opening a groundbreaking "Sudan-Europe relations forum" in Khartoum, vice-president Ali Osman Mohammad Taha said Sudan needed partnerships to pursue modernisation, but they should be balanced and mutually respectful.

"We know Sudan has resources and we know Europe has need of our resources. But we want to keep our identity and our cultural components while a new nation [emerges] from the negative shadow of colonialism," Taha said.

Western aid agencies estimate at least 200,000 people have died and more than 2 million have been displaced in Darfur, western Sudan, since violence between local African tribes, government forces, and Arabic nomadic militias known as Janjaweed erupted in 2003.

China, Sudan's largest trading partner, has been criticised for pursuing oil exploration and other commercial interests while supposedly turning a blind eye to Darfur. But the Sudanese government claims casualty figures are inflated and that government forces are trying to protect civilians in the region.

Speaking on the sidelines of the forum, Zahawi Ibrahim Malik, minister of information, said western governments and media were exaggerating the crisis in Darfur. "They have been there and seen for themselves what is happening, but when they go away they tell a different story. They have double standards ... Instead of criticising China for helping us, they should be helping us more," Malik said.

He rejected UN allegations that Khartoum was obstructing the deployment of a hybrid UN-African Union peacekeeping force. "We think some of those people in the west who criticise us are following their own agendas," he said.